At any one time over half a million people are flying far above our heads in modern aircraft. Their lives depend on the performance of the special metals used inside jet engines, where temperatures can reach over 2000˚C. Cambridge researchers will be exhibiting these remarkable materials at this year’s Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.

A novel technique, which enables researchers to visualise the activity of individual ions inside battery-like supercapacitors, could enable greater control over their properties and improve their performance in high-power applications. Researchers from the University of Cambridge, together with French collaborators based in Toulouse, have developed the method to see inside supercapacitors at the atomic level.

The University of Cambridge played host to the finals of a new science and electronics engineering challenge for students aged 12-14 from across the east of England. The winners were Chelmsford County High School for Girls (overall winner) and Cambridge’s Stephen Perse Foundation (pupil’s vote) for a queue meter to cut down waiting times and an ‘e-plate’ to aid portion control and monitor food waste. The tro...

Held from Monday 10 to Sunday 23 March at the University of Cambridge, UK, the 20th annual Cambridge Science Festival will attempt to answer many intriguing questions: What’s new in space? Why do coincidences happen? Can science make cyclists go faster? Why do cats make us sneeze? The Science Festival hosts over 250 thought-provoking talks and hands-on events for everyone.